DOC, DO I REALLY NEED TO TAKE ALL THOSE VITAMINS?

HOW WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR BODY EFFECTS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE OUTSIDE

by Doc Foxx

When I talk with someone about what they can do to take care of their skin, sooner or later the topic of vitamins comes up. And like the question above that a reader just sent me, people want to know exactly what they need to do.

Some of you are very conscientious about taking supplements, but most everyone gives me a variation of the old standby: “I try…”

That’s the cue for me to go into my best Yoda interpretation. You remember the cute guy with pointed ears who teaches Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi knight in STAR WARS, The Empire Strikes Back, don’t you? Yoda is a Jedi master, a guru if you will. When he is teaching Luke who is full of doubt and says he is going to try, Yoda says: “Try not. Do or do not!!! There is no try.”

Yoda was teaching Luke what he needed to do to protect his life. And so am I. So the answer to the question is yes. And that’s where I get asked: Okay, but I eat a “balanced” diet. So do I really need to take all those vitamins?

Okay…tell me what you had for lunch. Did you include one or two servings of colored vegetables? Did you have fast food? Chances are you caught lunch on the fly if at all, somewhere between errands, or between phone calls.

There really aren’t that many that you need to take but there are some basic ones that you should take if you want your skin to have that wonderful, youthful glow. A caveat…everyone you talk to in or even remotely near the medical field has an opinion.

There are some good resources you can check such as Life Extension Foundation or the website that Andrew Weil, MD, maintains with Tieraona Low Dog, MD, people I admire greatly. Dr. Weil has a great questionnaire on his site that is very helpful.

What I personally take are the following:

Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant that slows the rate of free radical damage from the sun and smoke. Taking Vitamin C by itself won’t be enough, but it is something that you should include in your daily regimen to keep your skin healthy. And unlike dogs and other animals, our bodies cannot make it.

Omega 3 is what is called an “essential fatty acid,” which means that it’s another important element our bodies can’t make. It maintains the structure of the cell membrane and has been shown to help protect the body from auto-immune diseases, like arthritis. Omega 3 helps the heart and blood vessels and has been shown to keep the brain from shrinking as we get older. Preventing Alzheimer’s? Maybe not completely, but I take it. I don’t mind taking chances but not with supplements and nutrition.

In blogs to come I will expand on some of these vitamins but you’ve got enough for a start.

I get my vitamins from Sprouts, Clark’s Nutrition, Trader Joe, and/or Life Extension Foundation. Remember to read the label and if it doesn’t make sense, take a picture of the label and send it to me. I’ll do my best to get the correct 411 (as they say).

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Gotta go…